External fixation devices have been commonly used for various treatments of bone conditions. Such bone conditions include leg lengthening, osteotomies, arthrodesis, open fracture fixations, compound fracture fixations, and other bone conditions amenable to treatment by use of an external fixation modality. For example, external fixation devices are typically used in treatment of bones wherein frequent wound care is necessary to treat an open wound or a surgical site within an extremity. External fixation devices are also used in treatment of bones wherein conventional casting is not an option, e.g., treatment of fractures in the pelvis, the neck, the skull or other non-extremities of a patient.
Although current external fixation devices are adequate, many external fixation devices are relatively large and include numerous components, are complicated to use, surgically invasive, difficult to adjust, and involve challenging postoperative care and use. Thus, improvements may be made. For example, current external fixation devices involve relatively large and numerous components, creating operative difficulties to both the practitioner and postoperative difficulties to the patient. Many devices, for instance, involve a ring or “halo” member disposed about an affected area to provide support to pins for fixating bone matter. Such components, however effective, are relatively bulky and create difficulty for the physician to insert and for the patient to move independently.
These ring or halo fixation devices have been used by orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists in the treatment of some foot injuries and maladies. Some injuries or conditions involving the foot or ankle require that these devices be applied to the bones of the foot (e.g., calcaneus, tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges) and the lower leg bones (e.g., tibia and fibula). In such circumstances, pins may be inserted into both the foot and lower leg bones in order to secure the fixation device. However, certain state laws in this country currently restrict podiatrists in their practice to performing manipulations and operative procedures on only the submalleolar region of a patient. Thus, devices requiring manipulations involving regions above the malleolar may be undesirable and/or inaccessible for use by podiatrists.
Thus, there is a need to provide an external fixation device that involves less components, is relatively easy to use, and may be used solely in the submalleolar region while maintaining effectiveness and providing relatively easy postoperative care.